As PWMania.com previously reported, Monday’s WWE RAW was a “absolute travel day from hell” for a large portion of the RAW roster traveling into Seattle. Because a number of wrestlers were not expected to make it to RAW in time, the show underwent a number of creative changes. On Monday evening, it was reported that there were a number of talents en route to RAW who were hoping to make it in time, but their segments would be last-minute additions if they were able to land and make it to the Climate Pledge Arena in time. Monday was described as a “pretty stressful day” for the creative team because they were forced to put on a show with the few performers they had.
In an update, PWInsider reports that Damian Priest, Matt Riddle, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Sami Zayn, and RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair were among those who had multiple delays and problems getting to Seattle for RAW.
Due to travel issues, approximately one-third of Monday night’s RAW had to be rewritten.
To make matters worse, many of the wrestlers arrived late and traveled all the way to Seattle only to be scheduled to return home Monday night on red-eye flights, so they literally flew across the country only to turn around and fly right back home.
After the main event, which saw Solo Sikoa defeat Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Kevin Owens, Zayn and Riddle arrived at RAW late in the show, just in time to fight The Bloodline.
Other planned segments that were scrapped included Riddle vs. The Miz and Priest confronting Bad Bunny. The LWO was supposed to compete in a six-man match on this week’s RAW, but WWE instead chose Finn Balor vs. 2023 WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio.
According to The Wrestling Observer, Rhea Ripley and The Street Profits were also among those affected by the delayed flight from Orlando to Seattle. The Miz was also absent from this week’s RAW. Because Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae were never scheduled for RAW, they were not among those affected. The Observer also believed that Riddle vs. Miz was scrapped for reasons unrelated to the travel issues.
WWE acknowledged the travel issues as soon as RAW aired, with Corey Graves saying that while some Superstars were unable to attend due to travel issues, but those who did were ready to tear it down.
As PWMania.com previously reported, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was not present for Monday night’s RAW in Seattle, but he did go over the show’s original plans. According to reports, no major changes were made to RAW as a result of Vince.
